


Beyond Fiction

by GrandDukeForever



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Incest, M/M, Meta, Sibling Incest, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 23:33:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrandDukeForever/pseuds/GrandDukeForever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I'm pretty sure I have the best readers ever. :p Since I love my regular supporters SO MUCH, I take on personal requests whenever people ask. Received this prompt via email: “Where one of the brothers finds "RPF" fanfiction and is at first like really disgusted or something but then reads a few and then gets hooked and starts kinda shipping it or something and then get so into it that he starts WRITING it and they get so much praise from readers for how accurate the portrayal of the two brothers is and blah blah blah yeah. (It could also be that one brother harbors feelings for the other and turns to RPF fiction to get those feelings out?) Then the other finds out through the drift but doesn't say anything because the first brother is convinced that they're being stealthy and they find the account and read the stuff and they're just like "holy shit that is US" and they sort-of-kind-of have this epiphany of "how have I been so blind to this all this time???" and then da-da! *dramatic music* LOVE! Maybe. IDK. (Also it doesn't have to be that cut-and-dry... complications and angst are more than welcome lol)”</p><p>Becketcest, meta, and fluff.  This is my response.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beyond Fiction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SublimeDiscordance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SublimeDiscordance/gifts).



> Continuing the summary in the author's notes because I ran out of room, lolol. The prompt was edited/truncated in order to make sure it fit within AO3's character limits...which I occasionally shake my fist at. 
> 
> Dedicated to SublimeDiscordance, who not only provides candid feedback, I cherish him as a regular supporter of my works. The prompt, of course, was from him, and I find myself unable to keep from spoiling him with more writing. :p (As a personal note to said user, I just want to say thank you so much for always making me smile!)
> 
> Please don't be shy to leave a comment! I do so enjoy interacting with my readers. 
> 
> This is my first time writing a meta fic. Kind of appropriate, I suppose, since I wrote my first ever A/B/O fic just prior to this one. I was actually really surprised and glad to see that it really took off, too! Totally wasn't expecting that one to do as well as it did. (o_O Within a span of 3 days, it cleared past a bulk of my other fics to be the 4th most popular story out of 12!) Hopefully readers will find this to their liking as well!
> 
> BY THE WAY— **DISCLAIMER**. Any titles and excerpts of works are totally fabricated by me. Just thought I should say that in case people think it's something I've already written or I'm referring to somewhere out there and they're wondering where they can read that work, lol. I did my best, when writing as “Raleigh,” to write in a way that I imagined the character would write it, and not as I actually would.

He stumbled upon the archive completely by accident in the wee hours of one morning. Raleigh couldn't remember what keywords he had used or what he had read before that eventually led him to the website, but after a few minutes of clicking around that particular morning whilst surfing the web, the blonde had stumbled upon a corner of the Internet dedicated to something called _fanfiction_.

At first, Raleigh had no idea what he was reading. If it had been Yancy, the older man probably would have just raised an eyebrow and moved on, not bothering to take time to understand it. Raleigh, on the other hand, was generally more curious.

Which was why, after he had discovered the stories, he spent the next several hours learning the basics of fanfiction. Like how to navigate the archive that he stumbled upon, for starters. Ever the quick study, it didn't take Raleigh long to get down pat the different genres fanfiction got categorized under and the concept of trigger warnings. What _did_ take him a while was the concept of _pairings_.

Initially, Raleigh had mistakenly assumed that fanfiction contained anonymous accounts of actual events in the lives of Jaeger pilots, but he quickly realized this wasn't the case after reading a few. For example, he knew for a fact that the marshal wasn't dating anyone, and when he came across one that featured Dr. Newton Geiszler as a former high school running back-turned mad scientist, that's when Raleigh knew for sure that what he was reading was all pure fabrication.

Then, around this time, he stumbled across something even more interesting—slash fiction. In particular, the subject of incest caught his eye.

He clicked on a link to a story that featured himself and his brother in the description. After reading through the first few sentences, and after it finally dawned on him what exactly he was reading, Raleigh felt his draw drop slightly at the words on his screen, mortified. These people were talking about _him_ and _Yancy_. _Together_. Doing things with each other that definitely went above and beyond their call of duty, so to speak, as brothers. 

Despite his initial horror, however, Raleigh found that he was unable to tear his eyes away from his computer screen. He found himself beginning to sift through the stories, skipping over the ones that turned out to be poorly written and blushing furiously at the occasional _PWP_ , which Raleigh discovered read mostly like whoever was writing it was in the heat of the moment when they did it, as if the person who had written it only did so in order to obtain some kind of release that couldn't be satisfied by written works that were already out there. 

There was a point where a tiny voice in the back of his mind told him that he should probably stop looking at all these—mostly sexual—fantasies that these writers were having about himself and his brother, among plenty of other pairings. Out of curiosity, Raleigh _had_ taken a look at a story marked as “Hansencest,” which he quickly decided was _definitely_ not his cup of tea, in addition to burning terrifying images in his mind that he knew he'd have to bury deep within the Drift, lest he scar his older brother too. He ended up having pretty much the same sentiment with all the other couples these fanfic writers seemed to “ship.” The stories that revolved around him and Yancy though, Raleigh couldn't seem to keep away from those, try as he might. 

It was a particularly well-written story titled “Five Times Raleigh Woke Up Before Yancy (and the One Time Yancy Did First)” that really kick-started it all. When Raleigh clicked on that story, he had meant for it to be the last one before he put it all behind him for good and internally marking his curiosity as sated. Unfortunately for him—or fortunately, however one would like to interpret it—the writer had Raleigh completely hooked after the first chapter. There was a scene depicting a very tender brotherly moment between the two of them as children that rang so true to Raleigh, he just had to read more. The story was far from true in terms of the location of the story and what was said, but the interactions described were pretty accurate, in Raleigh's opinion, and it definitely brought back some fond memories. 

> _...and Raleigh stood over his brother's bed and looked down at Yancy lovingly for a few moments before leaning forward whilst placing both his hands on the older man's cheeks. His lips, which were hovering right by one of the older man's ears, were curled upward in a small smile as he whispered._  
> 
> “ _C'mon, Yance...! Time to get up! Breakfast should be ready soon!”_  
> 
> _His older brother groaned and slowly began to stir. Raleigh smiled as Yancy lifted his arms and clasped his hands behind the younger man's neck as he stretched out his limbs. Eventually, the older man's eyes fluttered open. Yancy quietly regarded his brother for a moment before a small, lazy smile formed on his lips._  
> 
> “ _Morning, kiddo,” the older man said, chuckling. “C'mere...!”_  
> 
> _Raleigh laughed with delight when Yancy tugged gently on his neck, guiding his face down so that their lips could press together. When the older man released his hold, Raleigh pulled back and looked down at his brother with flushed cheeks..._  

Raleigh had felt his own cheeks flush upon reading the passage. Aside from the fact that he and his brother had never shared an intimate kiss, there _had_ been times in the past where Raleigh had woken his brother up in a gentle manner. A light tap on the cheek here; a playful nudge in the side there. That much, at least, wasn't all that unusual. The thing that struck Raleigh as most interesting about this story though, was the fact that the author writing it seemed to know quite a bit about the way he and Yancy talked to each other. It got Raleigh to wondering whether the writer was someone who knew them well, if he or she just had an extremely active imagination, or if the person was able to obtain the information some other way. Raleigh supposed the last option wasn't _entirely_ out of the realm of possibility. After all, as Jaeger pilots, they had done their fair share of interviews and the occasional variety show, when there was a quiet period between Kaiju battles. 

From that story onward, Raleigh found himself truly hooked, though after a while he found himself a little frustrated with the number of inaccuracies he was finding in them. For example, there was a story where Yancy was abusive towards him in childhood. Not only was that completely wrong—Yancy had _never_ laid a hand on him, and Raleigh was certain he never would—he found himself to be offended on his brother's behalf because he knew his brother was far from the person the writer had described. In fact, Raleigh made sure to leave a heated comment saying so. Never mind that at some point he had created an account for the website; that fact was totally irrelevant. 

He eventually began to bookmark a few—this began a few weeks later, and it was becoming a bit of a morning ritual of his on slow weekends, reading fanfiction while his brother was still fast asleep. At this point, Raleigh was beginning to get used to the idea of his brother and himself as an _item_. The more he thought about it, the whole concept of them being lovers didn't seem at all farfetched. Sure, there was the fact that each of them had, in the past, dated other people and also had the occasional fling. In the end though, none of those relationships had ever lasted very long, and ultimately, Raleigh had never felt that he really needed anyone other than his older brother to get him through life. This had become especially true after he and Yancy had started Drifting together. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to get in his brother's pants or vice versa, but he'd also be lying if he said that he wasn't starting to warm up to the idea. He was beginning to cringe less at stories featuring himself and Yancy in compromising positions. In fact, Raleigh found himself clicking on those links more often. 

After a while, Raleigh found himself starting to crave some of what was being described. Like the story he found that depicted his and Yancy's “first time.” 

> _...Rals, you're so tight!” my brother says as he grits his teeth and looks down at me with his eyes that are half-lidded with lust._
> 
> _I reach my hands up to his face and pull it towards mine. Our lips crush together for a bruising, passionate kiss. I am dizzy enough with pleasure that it well outweighs the pain of Yancy's hard length inside. My brother, the sweet, loving man that he is, waits for me. His brows are knit together and his overall posture is tight, and I can tell that he's trying his hardest to hold back for my sake._
> 
> “ _It's all right, Yance...” I breathe. “You can move...I think...I think I'm good. Should be fine...”_
> 
> _Perhaps though, my shaky voice gives away my feelings of uncertainty, because Yancy frowns and shakes his head. He then grunts before..._  

Despite the fact that the narrative sounded nothing like Raleigh, and Raleigh would know, not only because it was himself, but also because he did do his fair share of inner monologuing—it never sounded anything remotely like what the person had imagined—Raleigh had to give the writer props for writing a sex scene between the two brothers that could be perceived as believable. He even wrote an encouraging comment stating such. 

He was thrown for a loop one more time when he discovered yet another subset of fanfics describing his and Yancy's “relationship.” _Male pregnancies_. Just like before, Raleigh found himself incredibly turned off by the idea at first, but then after a while, he found himself speculating. 

Soon he was reading even these stories just as voraciously. He couldn't help quirking an eyebrow once he realized a majority of the stories had him playing the role of pregnant mother, but he did find a small handful where Yancy was the carrier, which Raleigh found himself oddly enjoying. His favorite, however, was one where he was in the matriarchal role. 

> _...had been washing some dishes when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, resting atop his swollen belly. Raleigh felt his heart flutter and cheeks grow warm with delight when he felt familiar lips press an affectionate kiss to his temple._  
> 
> “ _What are you doing up, Rals?” Yancy whispered into the younger man's ear. “You should be resting.”_  
> 
> _Raleigh rolled his eyes, though it was all in good humor. “I'm **pregnant** , Yancy, not deathly ill. I'm still fully capable of performing everyday activities.”_ 
> 
> _His older brother scrunched his nose in disapproval..._

Raleigh liked that one because he thought the author was spot-on with his or her interpretation of the way Yancy tended to worry over him sometimes. The only problem that Raleigh had with that particular story was the unrealistic notion of his becoming pregnant. 

Eventually, Raleigh found himself slowly starting to see his brother in a different light. Feelings he didn't realize he had were starting to surface whenever he looked at his brother, and there were instances where Raleigh wondered whether he was being influenced by the stories he was reading or if perhaps he had been in some kind of state of denial all along. Now when he read the stories, it was with mild feelings of longing; there were things Raleigh craved of his brother now that he didn't know how to ask for, and so he found himself becoming gradually more invested in the world of fanfiction.

Still, even within the well-written works there were way too many inaccuracies for Raleigh's liking, and so after a certain point—which was roughly five months after he had started to read all these stories—he decided to take it upon himself to correct the problem. So began his little crusade at about six o'clock one Saturday morning. It so happened that he would have plenty of time that day for such a frivolous activity—there were no pending Kaiju threats and consequently that meant Yancy wasn't likely to get up until noon or if something caused him to get up earlier. 

By nine that morning, Raleigh had already written and posted three short works under his pen name, _GDRanger_ _02_ , which wasn't exactly creative, he knew, but he hadn't really been able to think of anything catchy and creative upon such short notice. Much to his surprise, the Jaeger pilot fan community was extremely quick to respond to his stories. The fact that the first two of his stories received a fair number of reviews within the first few hours of their having been posted was a definite stroke to Raleigh's ego. 

“ _I've been a fan of these brothers since the beginning, and I've never read a work quite like yours,”_ one reviewer wrote. _“The plot was refreshingly original, not to mention you've brought to the table topics no other writer has touched upon yet. I mean seriously, how is that possible? Anyway, amazing job! Fantastic work! Definitely looking forward to reading more from you!”_  

Many of the comments he received echoed similar sentiments. Eventually, readers would be looking to his works as reference material for their own stories, but all that wouldn't occur for another few days. Soon, Raleigh found that he was writing more than he was reading. 

Funny enough, Raleigh's stories developed in a way that was similar to what his reading pace had been. It was a gradual evolution from innocent, platonic interactions to downright hot and steamy. After being an active member of the fanfiction site he frequented for roughly nine months, Raleigh was now writing out sexual fantasies he'd started to have about his brother. It had felt wrong at first, imagining his brother naked. After a point though, Raleigh discovered that not only did he desire to be taken by his brother, he also wanted to give his older brother reason for pleasure. The only downside to such realizations was that they were unfortunately one-sided, as far as he knew, anyway. Rather than brood over the fact, Raleigh released his newly unearthed frustrations in the form of writing. 

On another particularly slow work day, Raleigh had gotten so engrossed in his writing that he didn't hear his brother slowly stir awake behind of him. Yancy rolled over on his bed with a soft sigh and looked over to where the younger man was, typing furiously on a keyboard. The older blonde dropped down from his bed and rubbed at his face as he walked up behind his brother. 

“Morning, Rals...” Yancy mumbled. “What'chu up to, kid...?” 

He raised an eyebrow when his brother simultaneously jumped in his seat and slammed closed the laptop he had been using. He was confused upon seeing Raleigh's expression; the younger man was completely flustered. 

“G-geez, you startled me!” said Raleigh. 

“Uh...my bad?” Yancy said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Er...you all right, kid?” 

“Y-yeah...sorry,” Raleigh said sheepishly. “Didn't hear you get up.” 

Yancy shrugged slightly. “That's all right...” 

“Um...you want to grab breakfast?” Raleigh asked. 

Yancy blinked. “Uh...yeah, sure. Let me get washed up first?” 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, perhaps nodding a little too enthusiastically. “I need to take one too. Let's go.” 

“Okay...wait, _what?_ ” Yancy asked, looking at his brother incredulously. 

“ _Huh?_ ” Raleigh said, his face turning pink. 

It wasn't clear if the utterance had been meant for his brother or more for himself. Yancy shook his head. 

“You trying to hop in the shower with me?” 

“A-ah...! Is that what it sounded like?” Raleigh asked, chuckling weakly. “I er...” 

Raleigh blushed even harder, his words clearly failing him. Yancy's brows knit together in a light frown and he tilted his head slightly to one side. 

“You okay, kid?” Yancy asked. “You're acting kind of funny this morning.” 

“Y-yeah, fine. Totally fine,” Raleigh stammered as he began nudging Yancy towards the bathroom. “Here, why don't you go and take a shower first?” 

Yancy cast a curious glance over his shoulder as the younger man practically shoved him into the bathroom. Before he could say anything else, Raleigh had gone ahead and shut the door. Yancy stood where he was for a few minutes, baffled by the younger man's behavior. He eventually snapped out of it and stripped off his nightclothes. 

“Too damn early,” Yancy muttered, shaking his head as he stepped into the shower. “Guess I'll figure out what's up later.” 

Preoccupied with thoughts regarding his younger brother's strange behavior that morning and still in the process of shaking off the last bits of sleep, it didn't cross Yancy's mind to let the water run for a short while prior to getting in the shower. Which was why he wasn't at all prepared for the cold water that shot out of the sprinkler.

“Agh! Shit!” Yancy yelped, jumping out of the shower and shivering. “Dammit, that's cold!” 

If he was half-asleep before, he was definitely wide awake now. Raleigh winced inwardly outside upon hearing his brother's mild cursing. 

When the older man finally opened the door, Raleigh quickly averted his gaze and bit down gently on part of his tongue to distract himself from the fact that his brother was bare-chested with a towel hanging dangerously loose around his hips. Out of the corner of his eye, Raleigh could see a glimpse of his brother's feet. 

“Everything all right, Rals?” Yancy asked, and Raleigh could hear the concern in the older man's voice. “You seem kind of tense...” 

Luckily, Raleigh was able to stifle the whimper that almost passed through his lips. He got up right away and brushed brusquely past his brother, speaking quickly as he passed. 

“I'll be fine in a minute.” 

He didn't give his older brother a chance to respond, once again closing the bathroom door swiftly. Raleigh threw off his clothes and turned on the shower head. Stepping inside, he shivered even though the water was still a nice temperature from Yancy having warmed it before him. Raleigh closed his eyes and leaned the upper part of his body against the cool tile wall behind him before wrapping his hand around his throbbing arousal. He concentrated hard on not being too vocal as he began to thrust his hips into his hand. 

Meanwhile, Yancy waited for his younger brother patiently outside, all the while wondering what could be the cause behind Raleigh's recent awkwardness. Recalling how the younger man had seemed embarrassed about whatever he had been doing on the laptop, Yancy came to the conclusion that his brother had probably been doing something like watching porn. Which the older man didn't consider to be that big a deal, but he supposed Raleigh must have found it embarrassing only because Yancy hadn't caught him doing it before. 

Satisfied with the explanation he came up for his brother's behavior, Yancy ended up forgetting about the incident and easily put it behind him. Then one day, Yancy had seen a flash of something while he and his brother were Drifting that brought back memories to the surface in addition to providing Yancy with some context. Fortunately for Yancy, he was better than his brother at filtering his thoughts and memories in the Drift, so Raleigh was left unaware of the older man's discovery. 

It took a couple more sessions before Yancy was able to figure out which website his brother had been writing on. Finding the right opportunity to use his own laptop to find his brother's work, however, proved to be a surprisingly difficult task. For the first time, Yancy was becoming aware of how attached Raleigh was to him. Raleigh following him around everywhere was a habit the younger man had ever since they were children, so Yancy had never had a reason to think twice about it until now. 

He ended up having to pull a favor from Tendo, who agreed to help Yancy distract Raleigh for a few hours, no questions asked. While Tendo was busy showing Raleigh some potential upgrades for Gipsy Danger, Yancy quietly slipped away and made his way back to their quarters. 

Knowing that he only had a few hours at best, Yancy wasted no time in starting up his own personal laptop and connecting to the Internet. When he found his brother's fanfiction profile, Yancy couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped through his lips. 

“ _GDRanger02, Rals? Really?”_ Yancy thought to himself, amused. _“Could you be any more obvious?”_  

To Raleigh's credit, however, aside from the list of stories he had written, the younger man's profile was otherwise blank. Noting that the earliest stories written were listed at the bottom, Yancy figured that was as good a place to start as any. 

The first story he clicked on was titled “Snapshots from Paris.” After reading through a few lines, Yancy realized that it was more of a retelling of actual events that taken place in their childhood as opposed to a pure work of fiction, and he had mixed feelings about knowing that Raleigh had put the story out there, even if it was only a small sliver of their private lives. At the same time, Yancy was interested to see how events played out from Raleigh's perspective. Sure he had a general idea of the way his brother thought and how the younger man viewed the world, but it was a different thing to read it in written form. There was a certain section that caught Yancy's eye; it was a recount of a memory he had caught glimpses of several times through Raleigh's eyes in the Drift, but there was additional information in the passage that Yancy hadn't been aware of prior to reading about it.

> _...and I remember chasing after my brother with all my might. I was definitely having the time of my life, but at the same time I remember having this sinking feeling in my gut. When we were younger, Yancy's legs were longer than mine, easily making him the faster runner. We played tag like this often, but that one time in the fields just behind our distant aunt's house is a memory that sticks out clearly in my mind. I have no idea where the thought came from, but when I think on it, maybe it was a combination of things._
> 
> _My legs getting tired. A panic rising in my throat as I was forced to slow to a stop in order to catch my breath. I remember reaching my hand out, calling out to my brother, asking him to turn around and come back. Watching, with growing horror, as Yancy seemed to be getting further away from me._  
> 
> _Again, I don't know why, but there was clearly a moment where I was completely overtaken by this irrational fear that my brother was going to just suddenly disappear. Maybe it was the news story that I heard our mom and aunt listening to earlier that morning, about how the child abduction rate had risen in recent weeks. Actually, now that I think about it, that probably had a lot to do with it._
> 
> _It's not something I like to admit, but eventually I recall dropping to the ground and just straight up bawling. Before you judge me though, remember, I'm only like five years old at this point..._  

Yancy remembered. He hadn't known about the news story Raleigh had seen—even when they were kids, Raleigh had always been the first one out and about while Yancy had been perfectly content to sleep as late as he was allowed to—nor did he recall his brother ever shouting his name. What he did remember was what Raleigh described; on his knees with his head tilted slightly back and an arm over his eyes as he screamed bloody murder. It was the sound of his younger brother's cries that had stopped him in his tracks, and Yancy had rushed right over to Raleigh's side. Now that he was refreshed of the memory, Yancy found that the moment played out vividly in his mind. Apparently something similar had happened to Raleigh as well while writing it, because it reflected in what Yancy read.

> _...and the next thing I know, Yancy's right next to me. I don't remember how long exactly it took for me to stop crying, but when I finally did, I remember seeing my brother's eyes, filled with concern for me._  
> 
> _At some point, Yancy scooped me up and placed me in his lap. I remember hugging him with all my might and burying my face into his chest. He pat my back and kept placing kisses on top of my head all while apologizing for running too fast. If I hadn't been so upset, and had I had the words I needed to express myself, I probably would have been able to tell him the real reason..._  

As he read on, Yancy was beginning to realize that there were a lot of things his brother had never told him or shared. Knowing Raleigh the way he did though, Yancy was sure these were insights his brother hadn't kept hidden from him on purpose; rather, it was more likely that they had probably been buried deep within the younger man's subconscious. It made Yancy wonder what inspired his brother to unearth them after all this time. 

The minutes since Yancy started reading his brother's work seemed to tick by quickly. He had never known that Raleigh had the knack for writing, and although he was probably biased in saying so—he was always proud of anything that his younger brother did—Yancy felt that his brother was a talented writer. 

Raleigh's first few stories were short, sweet, and contained mostly little snippets of their childhood. It wasn't until Yancy reached some of his younger brother's more recent works that the older man started to recognize more fictional elements. The early ones in this set featured a lot of domesticity and something called _fluff_ , which confused Yancy, but he didn't really feel like it was an important enough term to look any more deeply into, so he just dove in and began reading. 

Yancy wasn't surprised to find that he enjoyed them. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if some of the fictional elements that his younger brother wrote about were things that Raleigh wished Yancy would do for him. Yancy didn't consider himself an inattentive brother, but he definitely didn't do certain things regularly that Raleigh seemed to be fixated on in his writing. 

Like tucking the younger man into bed and running his hands through Raleigh's hair until his younger brother would fall asleep, for example. Yancy hadn't done anything like that in _years_. He had stopped mostly because they had gotten older, and Yancy had supposed that to continue doing so at their age would be weird. He had also figured that Raleigh held the same sentiment, which is why he was surprised to see that the opposite seemed to be true. Now that Yancy knew, he found himself thinking about ways he could ease that ritual, among other things Raleigh had mentioned in his stories, back into their daily routine. 

> _...know it's stupid, especially since we're grown men now, but boy do I miss when Yancy used to sit next to me and weave his fingers through my hair until I fell asleep. Even though I've never really been a heavy sleeper, somehow I always became one under my brother's magic touch. Seriously, his fingers are capable of some real voodoo. Yancy's always really liked his sleep. I'm pretty sure back then he'd transfer some of that to me. Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss those moments..._  

Yancy was so into what he was reading that he almost didn't hear his brother fumble with the lock of their door. Quickly, Yancy forced his computer to shut down before slipping it underneath his pillow. He feigned sleep, facing away from his brother, and listened to Raleigh pad inside the room. 

“You asleep, Yance?” Raleigh whispered. 

Yancy was tempted to respond, but he decided to continue focusing on his breathing and trying to keep his posture relaxed. After a few seconds went by, he heard his brother let out a sigh. 

“Figures...” Raleigh muttered, but with affection. “You always do try to sneak in some shut-eye every chance you get.”

The older man couldn't help but crack a small smile at that, as it was true. After a moment, he heard his brother move about the room. Yancy almost dropped his act just to feed his curiosity, but then the sound of Raleigh's laptop booting cut clearly through the silence in the room. It took all the older man had to keep from laughing audibly when he heard his brother curse softly as he quickly muted the volume. Though he hadn't initially planned to, Yancy's eyes started to feel heavy after a few minutes, and he eventually fell asleep whilst listening to the clacking of his brother's fingers typing away furiously on his keyboard. 

Over the next few weeks, the brothers fell into a different routine that began sort of unexpectedly, but at the same time worked out perfectly for both men. Some writing challenge event had arisen in the fanfic world, and Raleigh was keen on participating. In fact, he was downright determined. He didn't want to brag, but Raleigh was pretty sure his stories were the reason why the quality of published fanfics revolving around himself and his brother as the main subject matter had improved significantly over the course of a year. In addition, Raleigh being who he was, completely allowed all the praise from his massive anonymous following to get to his head, and by this point he was absolutely addicted to writing for the fandom. 

So whenever Yancy made a feeble excuse to deviate from their usual daily routine of being practically joined at the hip, Raleigh hardly thought to raise an eyebrow in suspicion; he was _that_ distracted by his hobby. Yancy had been surprised at first, but the older man being who he was, decided to shrug it off for now and not analyze too deeply into his good fortune. 

It was no question that the rest of the Shatterdome took notice of this odd change to the Beckets' behavior, but no one dared to broach the subject due to the potential risks behind doing so. As different as the brothers were in their interests, they did share the same fiery temperament—if there was one thing that was commonly known throughout the Shatterdome, it was that the Beckets were always ready for a reason to fight. Therefore, the brothers were left well alone during their free time. 

At some point, while Raleigh was working away like a madman on something called a thirty-day challenge, Yancy had finally gotten to the stories Raleigh had written about them that were incestuous in nature. The older man hadn't been paying attention at first, and the transition in his younger brother's writing had been so gradual that Yancy almost didn't notice it, until he reached a certain part of one story where the touches went just a small step beyond simply brotherly. 

Had he bothered to read the warnings Raleigh had listed in the story's summary and if he had researched the meaning behind a few of the shorthanded ones, Yancy might have been better prepared for the change of pace. As it stood, he was taken completely by surprise. 

> _...the kiss was slow and chaste. In Yancy's eyes, there was uncertainty; in Raleigh's, there was a hint of fear._  
> 
> “ _Rals, I don't...” Yancy began, a slight frown on his face._  
> 
> _Raleigh lifted his hands and placed them on his brother's cheeks, running his thumbs over them gently. He was incredibly nervous, and so wet his lips while he gathered the courage to speak._  
> 
> “ _It's all right...” Raleigh finally managed to whisper. “It's...I...this is what I want, Yance.”_  
> 
> _His brother's expression was unreadable. Before either of them could change their minds, Raleigh lifted his head and brought their lips back together..._  

After finishing the story, Yancy took a moment to contemplate over what he had read. His mind was reeling with a flurry of thoughts, and understandably so. He took his time in sorting everything out, but while doing so, he decided to continue looking through the rest of the works Raleigh had written, partly to see if the rest of the younger man's most recent stories contained similar themes. He found that they did, though he was less astonished by it than he had been initially. 

It was around the fourth or fifth story Yancy read with this difference in style when suddenly realized that Raleigh had gone through other transformations with his writing that were less glaring. One of them was the fact that Raleigh appeared to favor writing primarily in the first-person point of view. However, there was a brief instance where a small handful of the stories were written from an omniscient perspective, and the first incestuous story Yancy had stumbled upon marked the start of these. He noted with interest that Raleigh eventually eased back in to first-person. After thinking on it some more, Yancy came to the following conclusion—Raleigh had been utilizing fanfiction as a tool for self-discovery. 

This opened up an avenue for even more questions, and so Yancy stopped moving ahead in his reading and took a moment to revisit some of Raleigh's earlier works that he had already read. He skimmed through them, taking mental notes of specific things he noticed that he deemed to be significant. What he was doing was a technique similar to what Jaeger pilots did in the Drift; sifting through a partner's thoughts in order to try and make sense of his or her thought processes. The ultimate goal was to better understand one's co-pilot; to become an effective team. 

While it wasn't clear to him what exactly had pushed Raleigh to start writing fanfiction in the first place, Yancy _did_ find it clear that Raleigh had gone from simply wanting more close moments with his brother to yearning for physical intimacy that went beyond brotherly affection. Any normal person might have been terribly put-off upon discovering his or her sibling was lusting after then; however, that was the beauty of the Drift. It broadened one's perspective on the world, people, and relationships. It changed things. 

Eventually, Yancy resumed his reading of Raleigh's newer stories. There were a few lines in the next one he clicked that seemed to describe his sentiments perfectly. 

> _...think this is wrong?” Raleigh asked, not quite able to look his older brother in the eye. “I mean, since we're brothers and all...you're not...?”_  
> 
> “ _Put off by you?” Yancy asked, completing his brother's thought. “If that's the question, then the answer's no, Rals. Not by you. Not by this...”_  
> 
> _Raleigh bit his lip. “Still...this...it could be the Drift.”_  
> 
> “ _True, it could be,” Yancy admitted._  
> 
> _Raleigh couldn't help but shrug helplessly. “Then...”_
> 
> “ _If it is, we'll figure it out, kid,” said Yancy. “We always do, don't we...?”_  
> 
> _Raleigh nodded tightly, annoyed by the lump forming in his throat. Yancy leaned forward and wrapped his strong arms around Raleigh's body. The younger brother both loved and hated the way Yancy always knew how to make him feel safe; how he never held it against him whenever Raleigh showed signs of childish weakness._  
> 
> _Raleigh turned his head, nuzzling against the side of his brother's face. His fingers threaded through his older brother's hair._
> 
> “ _I love you,” Raleigh whispered, suddenly compelled to say the words._  
> 
> _He repeated them, almost endlessly, not caring how ridiculous he sounded..._  

Despite the fact that Raleigh had not meant to, the younger man's cards had been completely laid out before Yancy. It was now up to the older man to decide what to do with the information. The choices were simple, really. He could either choose to pretend he'd never read anything—since obviously Raleigh still had no idea that his older brother knew about the stories and Yancy was confident he could conceal what he knew within the Drift—or he could _act_. To accept or reject his brother's feelings, that was also up to the older man. The matter then boiled down to whether or not Yancy even reciprocated Raleigh's feelings in the first place. He once again stopped reading and took several days to think things over. 

The first day, he simply just watched Raleigh as they spent time together. The younger man was still writing, but not as fervently as before—the archive challenge was almost over and Raleigh was planning on going on a brief hiatus for a spell. Writing the stories was beginning to feel taxing, because like a drug, it was highly addictive and the thrill only lasted for so long. Yancy compared the way his brother was now to the mental image of how the younger man had been in the early stages of fanfic writing; Raleigh's fingers moved a bit more slowly when he typed and the expression on his face seemed more pensive.

The following day, Yancy began to put into practice being more attentive and affectionate with his younger brother. He didn't coddle the man, but at the same time he did things with Raleigh that he hadn't done since childhood. Old habits that he had ceased simply because he had thought Raleigh wouldn't appreciate any longer since they were older now. However, when he noticed the way Raleigh would brighten, even when Yancy was only doing something as childish as ruffling his younger brother's hair, the older man found himself wondering why he'd ever stopped at all. 

Raleigh continued his writing, and Yancy continued reading. If the younger man knew that his older brother was reading his work, he didn't let on about it, although Yancy doubted that was the case since if anything, Raleigh was acting more relaxed around him rather than antsy. Yancy remained mindful about concealing what he knew in the Drift to the best of his ability; he felt that he needed more time to sort out his own feelings. He was definitely becoming aware of something, but Yancy still wasn't able to place a finger on what exactly they were. 

From reading his younger brother's work, Yancy felt that it had become clear what Raleigh's feelings had become, even if that wasn't initially what they were. He also know that although the younger man would never admit it, Raleigh was the more sensitive of the two, as tough as he tried to act on the outside. It was all the more reason, Yancy thought, to be careful in his approach. 

At the very least, one thing was clear—Yancy didn't hate what he read, even when he was shocked by how graphic some of the details were in the stories. One in particular burned in his mind for a while; it also happened to be the only story the moved at such a quick pace. 

> _...and my brother grips my hair roughly, shoving his cock further down my throat. My eyes are burning, but I manage to look up at him. I want him to see; I want him to feel turned on by this, what I'm doing for him. I can't help the pleasant shiver that runs through me when Yancy gives me this look—the one where I know for a fact it means he's pleased._  
> 
> “ _What do you want, Rals...? Hm...?” my brother growls at me as he bucks his hips, and **fuck** all I can think about is how much I want his cock shoved up my ass._
> 
> _I close my eyes and moan when he brushes his fingers over my nipples. He's still fucking my mouth and I'm touching myself down there. He's got me all twisted up like a girl, but I really don't give a shit at this point—I just want him._  
> 
> “ _Oh, you like that, huh...?” Yancy says as he continues to rock his hips. “You like when I get rough with you, don't you?”_  
> 
> _My brother's cock feels so fucking good in my mouth, but I have to remember to breathe. I whimper when he finally pulls away and he pushes me roughly onto the bed. My legs part on reflex when he runs his hand along my hardened length. I moan enthusiastically when he slides a finger inside and he tells me how he can't believe how wet I am; tells me how he can't believe my body is trembling the way it is—how I'm such a little slut._  
> 
> “ _You like it when I talk to you dirty like that, don't you?” he asks, and I nod shamelessly in response._  
> 
> _And like the asshole he can be sometimes, he just keeps on teasing me. Then again, I should have known better than to expect anything different; sure, Yancy spoils me, but he never lets me just have whatever it is I want without working for it a little._  
> 
> _He presses his hard dick against my hole and everything feels hot. I want him to just shove it in, but he's being such an ass. He leans his body over mine; he nips at my lower lip and then bites down gently on the lobe of my ear._  
> 
> “ _Tell me what you want, hm?” my brother whispers harshly. “C'mon, Rals. I want to hear you say it.”_
> 
> _I'm really pissed off that he isn't losing it. At least, that's what it seems to me._
> 
> “ _Dammit, Yancy,” I think. “Why the fuck am I the only one here that seems to be losing control?”_  
> 
> “ _That's because you're impatient, Rals,” my brother responds to my thoughts out loud and **fuck** it makes me even more irritated because he's laughing at me now—for a minute there I totally forgot that our thoughts are still connected through the Drift._  
> 
> “ _Now, tell me, Rals,” Yancy says with this mischievous glint in his eyes and it just pisses me off even more because we both know he's got the upper hand on this one. “You know I'll give you what you want if you ask nicely.”_  
> 
> _I want to roll my eyes after he says that because **of course** he just has to include that last bit, and I'm left to decide whether I value my needs more than my pride. The answer, obviously, at this point is 'yes,' and so I tell him._  
> 
> “ _Please fuck me, Yance,” I moan. “I want your cock... **please**...!”_  
> 
> _Yancy grins and I **swear** he can be such a little shit sometimes. “Well that wasn't so hard now, was it?”_  
> 
> _I growl at that and he laughs. God, if I didn't want him so bad I'd fucking twist his balls just to wipe that cheeky grin off his face. I know Yancy just heard my thought because he frowns, but I'm not scared of his reaction because I can tell he's not really all that mad._  
> 
> “ _Now, now, Rals...” Yancy says as he slides into me **slowly** —fucking **asshole** —making me whimper helplessly because I want him to go faster while he shakes his head at me. “Be nice, kid, and I promise I'll show you something nice.”_ 
> 
> “ _And what the fuck's that?” I wonder in annoyance and Yancy laughs at me once more._  
> 
> “ _Here,” Yancy says, and his voice sounds like it's booming so I know he's talking to me through the Drift. “Let me give you a little peek at what I mean...”_  
> 
> _And **oh** is he **right** , the damn bastard. He's using the Drift so I can see what I look like right now to him, through his eyes and **fuck** I just look fucking debauched. And **shit**! It's even better than looking at a fucking mirror, and I know that he knows I like it._  
> 
> _I arch my back when he starts slamming into me harder and moan. He hisses when I nip at his shoulder and rake my fingers down his muscular backside._
> 
> “ _ **Fuck** you feel nice, Rals,” Yancy growls in my ear as he fucks me. “So fucking tight...!”_  
> 
> _He hits me in just the right spot and I'm seeing stars as I groan. Yancy's chuckling, but it's sounding so far away right now. He's still showing me what I look like from his point of view, and **fuck**!_  
> 
> “ _You like that, don't you, Rals?” my brother says as he strokes me while I cum. “Yeah, that's right...I know you do... **fuck** , you're beautiful...you're just...!”_ 
> 
> _Suddenly, I feel him tip over too as he reaches his climax and starts pumping into me his seed. I can feel some of it dripping down my leg, and..._  

Yancy's cheeks did tend to get warm when he read some of his brother's stories, but his face burned with extra heat reading that specific one, and it was partly due to shame. He had felt the blood rush to his nether region while reading, and though it was clear Raleigh desired him, it was with the last shreds of moral dignity that Yancy felt it was wrong of him to react to the younger man's writing in the way he was. Still, he read on.

He eventually reached the end of Raleigh's posted works. Yancy found that he enjoyed the last few the most.

> _...these are the moments that I like best, when Yancy's just holding me and I revel in the warmth of his body. I'd be lying if I said I never wanted him to get rough with me from time to time, but I do like it most when my brother's just being himself—gentle, loving, tender..._  

For a while, Yancy checked back on his brother's fanfiction profile, but there were no additional updates. It appeared that his brother had gone into some sort of hiatus. Yancy was surprised to find himself mildly disappointed by this, and spent a few days mulling over what that could mean.

He came to his answer gradually through events that unfolded that week, the first of which where the two brothers had been having a friendly sparring match in the Kwoon. At some point, Yancy managed to pin Raleigh underneath him, and had any third party been watching, they probably would have sensed the sexual tension weighing down heavily between the two brothers. 

The two men stared into each other's eyes for a long time, both with light frowns on their faces and their breathing slightly ragged. Yancy was straddled over top his younger brother, his face hovering dangerously close to Raleigh's. The bars they were using for sparring were criss-crossed over their chests. 

After a moment, Raleigh broke the stiff atmosphere with a chuckle. He pushed against his older brother's bar gently with his own. 

“C'mon, Yance...” Raleigh said softly. “You're heavy.” 

The older man blinked. “What? Oh...” 

The younger man grunted when Yancy pushed against his bar to put more of his body weight on his knees. Yancy placed his bar down to the side before getting up. 

“Here,” Yancy said, holding a hand out to his younger brother. “Let me help you up.” 

Raleigh half-smiled and took the offered hand. “Thanks, Yance.” 

“Sure thing, kid.” 

They cleaned up in silence and headed back to their room. The thought of genuinely having wanted to kiss Raleigh was an idea that lingered in Yancy's subconscious long after they had left the Kwoon. The thought would follow him all the way until later, after they had eaten dinner, when they were called to report for their weekly Drift simulation. Even when there were no Kaiju threats pending, the marshal expected all the pilots to do all they could to maintain top form. 

During this simulation run, the thoughts that Yancy had meant to keep buried deep in his subconscious surfaced in the Drift. For a brief moment, Yancy panicked. He was able to eventually successfully steer himself and his brother away from the thoughts, but in the end Yancy wasn't sure what his brother had seen or whether Raleigh had even seen anything at all.

One look at the strange look on Raleigh's face after they had disconnected, however, and Yancy knew that his brother had at least seen _something_. The question then became what exactly his brother might have seen. He waited for his brother to make the first move, but Raleigh didn't mention anything and appeared to be opting for acting like nothing had happened at all. This disappointed Yancy, but he was at a loss as to how to best go about bringing up the subject. 

The opportunity came several days later, when Yancy thought to check his brother's fanfiction profile by chance and noticed that there was one new story posted. According to the date stamp, the work had been uploaded the previous day. It was a relatively short work, and thinking that he had enough time to do so, Yancy took the chance to read through it while Raleigh was occupied in the shower. 

> _...my heart dropped as soon as I realized it; I totally broke out into a cold sweat._  
> 
> “ _ **Shit** ,” I thought. “He knows...!”_ 
> 
> _The look he gives me when our eyes meet, I cannot read, and I'm too afraid to probe his thoughts using our bridged mental connection to figure out what he's thinking and feeling. I just desperately hope that he doesn't hate me..._  

When he finished, Yancy felt a sense of longing within himself. The story got him to wondering about many things, among them being how long the younger man must have hesitated before deciding to finally submit the work. Based on the story's contents, it no longer seemed to be a question to Yancy that Raleigh had found out the older man had been reading his work. Raleigh had placed the ball in Yancy's court, and now it was up to the older Becket to decide what he was going to do with the information. 

Yancy read over the story one more time before shutting off his laptop and climbing down from the top bunk. When Raleigh came out of his shower, he found Yancy comfortably settled in his bed, casually reading a book. Nervously, the younger man cleared his throat and he felt his cheeks grow warm when Yancy glanced over at him nonchalantly and gave him a small smile. Raleigh stood where he was, frozen for a few moments, while he watched Yancy place the book down to the side before motioning the younger man over. 

“Well? What'chu just standing there for?” Yancy asked softly. “Come on over.” 

That seemed to snap the younger man out of it. Raleigh nodded slowly and began to move. 

“Yeah...all right,” he said. 

He dug out a pair of pajama pants from one of their clothing drawers and then settled himself in bed beside his brother. An awkward silence fell between them for a few moments as neither man knew what to say. After a few moments, Yancy slowly slid a hand over one of Raleigh's and entwined their fingers together. Both men stared at their joined hands, their faces equally red. 

Finally, Yancy wet his lips and spoke. “I uh...I've been reading them.” 

“I know,” Raleigh said with a nod, worrying part of his lower lip. “How long, though...?” 

The older man frowned as he thought about this question. After pondering over it for a few seconds, he just shook his head. 

“I don't know, honestly...I just happened to come across it one day,” said Yancy. “While we were Drifting. I don't think I've known for as long as you've been writing, though.” 

Raleigh nodded. “Oh...I see...” 

After another brief bout of silence, Yancy let out a small sigh. “Well...?”

Raleigh gulped down the growing lump in his throat before looking up at his brother. “Well, what...?”

Yancy gave the younger man a slight shrug. “Guess I was just wondering about something, I don't know...”

“Yeah...?" 

The younger man shivered slightly when Yancy gently ran a thumb over the back of Raleigh's hand. Yancy's eyebrows were knit together in a light frown. 

“Did you mean any of it, Rals...?” Yancy finally asked. “What you wrote, I mean...?” 

Raleigh licked his lips nervously before responding. “And if I were to say yes...?” 

“Then, I believe...” Yancy said with a half-smile as he trailed a finger underneath Raleigh's chin to tilt the other man's face upward. “...I owe you an answer.” 

Both men were breathing a little more rapidly now, their eyes searching. Raleigh felt his face grow warm as he whispered. 

“O-oh...” 

He closed his eyes when Yancy closed the gap between their faces and pressed their lips together for a gentle kiss. Raleigh allowed the older man to slowly push him down onto the bed as they continued their lip lock. Finally, the older man pulled back after a moment and looked down at Raleigh's flushed face. 

“I love you, Rals...” Yancy breathed. 

The younger man's lips curled into a small smile. He trailed his fingers gently upward along the older man's spine. 

“Love you too, Yance,” Raleigh whispered. 

Shortly after, the two of them resumed their kissing. Light pecks would slowly turn into passionate exchanges, which would eventually turn into tender lovemaking that would last all night long.


End file.
